Torgny Karl Segerstedt (1 November 1876 – 31 March 1945) was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

professor and scholar of

comparative religion Comparative religion is the branch of the study of religions with the systematic comparison of the doctrines and practices, themes and impacts (including migration) of the world's religions. In general the comparative study of religion yie ...

, who later became editor-in-chief of the newspaper ''

Göteborgs Handels- och Sjöfartstidning ''Göteborgs Handels- och Sjöfartstidning'' (''GHT'') was a daily newspaper published in Gothenburg, Sweden, from 1832 to 1985. History and profile ''GHT'' was founded in 1832 by publisher Magnus Prytz and had a liberal alignment from the lat ...

''. He is most remembered for his uncompromising anti-

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

stance and his efforts to alert the Swedish public to the threat of Fascism during the 1930s.

Biography

Torgny Segerstedt was born at

Karlstad Karlstad (, ) is the 20th-largest city in Sweden, the seat of Karlstad Municipality, the capital of Värmland County, and the largest city in the province Värmland in Sweden. The city proper had 65,856 inhabitants in 2020 with 95,167 inhabitants ...

Värmland County Värmland County (''Värmlands län'') is a county or '' län'' in west central Sweden. It borders the Swedish counties of Dalarna, Örebro and Västra Götaland, as well as the Norwegian counties of Viken and Innlandet to the west. Prince Carl P ...

, Sweden. He was the son of the teacher and publicist Albrekt Segerstedt (1844–1894) and Fredrika Sofia Bohman (died 1884). He earned a

cand.theol. Candidatus theologiæ (male), Candidata theologiæ (female), abbreviated cand. theol. is an academic degree with a long tradition, awarded after a six-year higher education in theology in Iceland, Denmark, and Norway. In Norway, the title has re ...

degree from

Lund University , motto = Ad utrumque , mottoeng = Prepared for both , established = , type = Public research university , budget = SEK 9 billion history of religion The history of religion refers to the written record of human religious feelings, thoughts, and ideas. This period of religious history begins with the invention of writing about 5,200 years ago (3200 BC). The prehistory of religion involves th ...

. He was a lecturer in theological encyclopedics at Lund University from 1904 to 1912. He was awarded a

doctor of theology Doctor of Theology ( la, Doctor Theologiae, abbreviated DTh, ThD, DTheol, or Dr. theol.) is a terminal degree in the academic discipline of theology. The ThD, like the ecclesiastical Doctor of Sacred Theology, is an advanced research degree equiva ...

in 1912. He was professor in the history of religions at

Stockholm University Stockholm University ( sv, Stockholms universitet) is a public research university in Stockholm, Sweden, founded as a college in 1878, with university status since 1960. With over 33,000 students at four different faculties: law, humanities, so ...

from 1913 to 1917. Torgny Segerstedt was editor-in-chief of the Gothenburg newspaper ''Göteborgs Handels- och Sjöfartstidning'' from 1917 until his death in 1945. After the rise of

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

to power in

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

, the newspaper became the leading Swedish publication dedicated to the German struggle against Nazism. Throughout

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he remained an opponent to the Swedish government policies of concessions to Nazi Germany.

Personal life

Torgny Segerstedt married his

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including the ...

born wife Augusta Wilhelmina Synnestvedt (1874–1934) in 1905. Their children were the philosopher and sociologist

Torgny Segerstedt Torgny Karl Segerstedt (1 November 1876 – 31 March 1945) was a Swedish professor and scholar of comparative religion, who later became editor-in-chief of the newspaper ''Göteborgs Handels- och Sjöfartstidning''. He is most remembered for hi ...

(1908–1999) and the journalist and politician Ingrid Segerstedt Wiberg (1911–2010). Segerstedt died in

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

during 1945 and was buried at Kvibergs kyrkogård.

Legacy

In 1955, the Torgny Segerstedt monument was unveiled at Vasaplatsen in Gothenburg. The ten-meter high, triangular monolith of granite was designed by Swedish sculptor Ivar Johnsson (1885–1970). He was posthumously awarded the

Illis quorum ''Illis quorum'' (''Illis quorum meruere labores'') (English: "For Those Whose Labors Have Deserved It"), is a gold medal awarded for outstanding contributions to Swedish culture, science or society. The award was introduced in 1784 by King Gust ...

by the Swedish government in 1977. The Torgny Segerstedt Foundation (''Stiftelsen Torgny Segerstedts Minne'') was founded in 1996 and was inaugurated by his daughter Ingrid Segerstedt-Wiberg. The foundation funds a visiting professorship at the

University of Gothenburg The University of Gothenburg ( sv, Göteborgs universitet) is a university in Sweden's second largest city, Gothenburg. Founded in 1891, the university is the third-oldest of the current Swedish universities and with 37,000 students and 6000 st ...

. Torgny Segerstedt was the subject of the 2012 Swedish film, ''

The Last Sentence ''The Last Sentence'' ( sv, Dom över död man; Judgement on the dead) is a 2012 Swedish film, directed by Jan Troell and starring Jesper Christensen, Pernilla August, Björn Granath and Ulla Skoog. It is set between 1933 and 1945, and focuses ...

'' (). The story was based on the journalistic career of Segerstedt. It was directed by Swedish film director

Jan Troell Jan Gustaf Troell (born 23 July 1931) is a Swedish writer-director, and cinematographer. His realistic films, with a lyrical photography in which nature is prominent, have placed him in the first rank of modern Swedish film directors along with I ...

and featured the Danish actor

Jesper Christensen Jesper Christensen (; born 16 May 1948) is a Danish actor. A veteran of European cinema, he has more recently made the transition to English language projects, including ''The Interpreter'' and '' Revelations''. He has also appeared as the mys ...

in the role of Torgny Segerstedt.

References

Other sources

* Anders Johnson (2006) ''Ett porträtt av Torgny Segerstedt - Personligheten och hjordinstinten'' (Göteborg: Tre Böcker Förlag AB)

External links

Stiftelsen Torgny Segerstedts Minne website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Segerstedt, Torgny 1876 births 1945 deaths People from Karlstad Lund University alumni Academic staff of Lund University Academic staff of Stockholm University Swedish newspaper publishers (people) Swedish anti-fascists Swedish people of World War II Swedish newspaper editors Recipients of the Illis quorum